BNP claim two seats

THE far-right has sent a shockwave through British politics, exploiting lingering tensions generated by racial violence to claim two seats in the local elections.

Mother-of-one Carol Hughes, and David Edwards, a civil engineer, both won seats for the British National Party on Burnley Borough Council, Lancashire.

Mr Edwards came second with 898 votes in his ward of Cliviger with Worsthorne, and Ms Hughes also came joint second in her ward of Rose Grove with Lowerhouse, on 751 votes. They claimed their seats because each ward was electing three councillors.

The BNP's publicity coup could grow in the hours to come, with a recount for a third seat in the town which the party has a realistic chance of winning.

Last summer, Burnley was struck by violent clashes involving Asian and white youths - memories of which were exploited by the BNP during concentrated campaigning in the North West.

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Before today the BNP had only ever had one major council seat, the urban seat in Tower Hamlets, east London, which they won in 1993 but held for only a year.

Labour Party chairman Charles Clarke said the BNP's success was "disappointing", and claimed that the party's candidates were interested only in "tearing apart" the communities they targeted.

In the England-wide contest between the main parties, Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith discovered the size of the task he faces in returning the Tories to government, as his party's successes fell well short of the kind of swing which would oust Tony Blair from Downing Street.

The Burnley results were the only high point for the BNP, which had hoped to reflect the success enjoyed in recent days by French far-right presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Campaigning had been dominated by concerns over street crime, and fears that a low turnout could allow the BNP, which put up 68 candidates around the country, to make significant gains.

But in Sunderland the BNP challenge melted away, with none of its six candidates winning a seat. In Sandwell, where it had more realistic hopes, neither of its candidates was elected.

BNP candidate Mick Treacy was defeated resoundingly in Oldham, scene of violent clashes between gangs of Asian and white youths last June. Their hopes of gaining a foothold in Bexley, south east London, disappeared when all their seven candidates were beaten.

Turnout in such areas was much higher than the national average, as it appeared that voters were mobilising to keep them out.

TUC general secretary John Monks said: "This is a shocking day for everyone who cares about democracy and tolerance. But the BNP have been beaten back before, when they gained a foothold in east London. If we all work together we can do it again."

On a night when the Tories were hoping to capitalise on disillusionment with the Government and pick up substantial numbers of seats, successes in London were undermined by results elsewhere.

While in London the Conservatives gained control of Enfield and Richmond, they lost one of only two metropolitan councils they held, Calderdale in West Yorkshire, to no overall control. And Labour retained control of Bolton and Wolverhampton, two councils where they were facing a serious threat.

At 5am the BBC calculated that Labour had 33 per cent of the vote, the Tories 34 per cent, and the Liberal Democrats 27 per cent.

With results available from 158 councils, PA News calculated that the Tories had picked up 178 seats, Labour had lost 247, and the Liberal Democrats had gained 24. The Conservative gains were well shy of the 500-odd seats most analysts suggested they needed to make a statement of intent.

Conservative deputy leader Michael Ancram said the party had "a right to be pleased" with its results in the elections.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This was a workmanlike performance. We are making steady progress in the seats we need to win back.

"Eleven months after an election, we wouldn't expect to see an enormous yearning for change. What is interesting is that it is two weeks after a Budget which we were told was going to substantially benefit Labour's position. It hasn't.